Thursday, April 29, 2010

Sanibel bound

The weather forecast for this weekend in Chattanooga:


Annnd the forecast for this weekend in Sanibel Island, Florida:



sorry for the poor quality...

I can live with a few isolated showers compared to weekend #2 of day-long storms. So, we're off!

We're excited about seeing David's immediate family
(and about going to the beach,
doing some shopping,
sleeping in,
riding bikes,
reading,
resting, etc.)

Vacation, here we come!

Monday, April 26, 2010

my happy place

So many elements of this weekend really epitomized things I love.

1. Grandparents. We went to Baylor to watch John play lacrosse, and I chatted with Dr. Mosier (Lynn's dad) the entire time. David usually does this at sporting events (they like to talk about stocks and sports and business- and they love each other!), but it was my treat on Friday. We could have gabbed all night, and I just loved it. Friday was Grandparents Day at Baylor, and I impressed on the kids how much they should appreciate having their grandparents available for such a special day (the Mosiers won the award for having the most grandkids at Baylor- 5! and they made it to each of their classes!). My grandparents lived in California and Virginia, so they were never able to come (we did have our surragate g'parents come with us one year, and it was so special).

2. Rain. I don't always enjoy the rain, but it is oh-so-nice to wake up or fall asleep to it on a lazy Saturday.

3. Pizza, games and movies. John and Patrick spent the day & night with us on Saturday and we took advantage of the rainy day to veg. We did run errands and we did accomplish a lot around the house, but we also did watch National Treasure 1 and 2, play Pit and eat 3 Hot & Ready pizzas (+breadsticks)(JB is an eater).

4. Guests. Not new news, but we love having people in our home. John & Patch were with us Saturday-Sunday, and they were awesome. Yeah, they were silly teenage boys (and David reverted to his teenage self too), but they are such good ones. They were so helpful. It was awesome. For example, after church on Sunday, David put them to work with him in the yard:


Seriously! And this was after they had each helped me make food for the shower and cleaned the upstairs (we took a 30 minute break from watching the movie and everyone got a task to accomplish. Work is so much easier when you do it together!) In all seriousness, these boys are such a blessing to know. They fart and laugh about it (a lot) and do other typical-teenage-boy things, but I never have to open a door when they are around. They are model gentlemen, and they treat me like a princess (maybe one day they will treat Hayden that way... one girl at a time). Some girl is going to be so lucky to get each of these boys (when they are 35), and we just pray if we have boys that we can learn from Kevin and Lynn how to raise them just the same!

I wanted to take a picture of the boys (though they were gross and sweaty)(aaand John hadn't showered in multiple days), but they awkwardly stood next to each other. This was the simultaneous response I got when I said "touch each other!":

hillarious, boys. really, hillarious.

They really do love each other.

Our Sunday just kept getting better and better.

We hosted a wedding shower for our sweet friends Deb & David. Deb asked me what she could do to help, and I said pray for good weather. She (and God) definitely delivered! The weather was perfect for a leave-the-door-open-and-let-people-sit-inside-and-outside afternoon shower. Having David & the boys help me prepare kept my stress level to a minimum, and they helped pull off a lovely event. It was so fun to visit with people from church and camp, and Deb & David had a great time.

The last guests from the shower left around 5:30 and the fun just continued into the night! We met with our new small group from church for the first time at 6pm! We are excited about the group the Lord has brought together to work through The Justice Mission and learn about God's heart for the oppressed. We are so thankful for: 1) a church that has a true vision to see people move from corporate worship into being known in the context of small group ministry, 2) Jency & Nathan and their heart for international justice and 3) God's heart- for the oppressed and for each of us- that forgives us and loves us regardless of ... well, us!

By the time everyone left and we got the dog from the neighbor (she graciously agreed to let Harley play with her dog Dolly during our small group- which is a HUGE blessing) and we cleaned up and put away leftovers, we were beat.

However.

We were both so full of joy from such a great weekend. I was tired in the best possible way. Having people in our home is my happy place, no doubt about it. I have had a long battle with my "call to ministry" (another topic for another post), but after several Myers Briggs and Spiritual Gift Indicator tests I can say confidently that a large part of the call to ministry God has put on my life (and my husband's!! what a blessing.) is hospitality. It really is the simple things that God can use as ministry, and we are humbled to be a part of that.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

another one bites the dust

This weekend I went to Knoxville to attend the wedding of one of my college roommates. What made it even better is that Abby's wedding made for the perfect excuse for a mini reunion slash road trip for some of my Birmingham friends! Kara, Cliff, Jenn and Kristen all came and we had SO much fun!
Sus was in the wedding, and it was great to see her twice in just a few months!

blue, much?

compare Kristen's boutonniere to Kara's... ridic.

sweet college friends

... and add the groom!

Abby is the fourth of our seven Currie Way roommates to get married!
Stroud wedding, May 2007
Word to the wise- If you get married right after graduation, people will still be around and able to come!

Hamilton wedding, December 2007

We never got a Currie picture at my wedding, but here is me & Brit:
(I miss this girl! Brit... it's been far too long)
and Kara & Jamie:

4 down, 3 to go.
Kara mentioned in the car that she'll be sad when everyone is married because the only thing we'll have to look forward to for getting everyone together will be our funerals.
???
Let's hope not, KRay. Let's hope not.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

my stuff!

I got my starter kit from Initials, Inc. and I'm so excited about it! When you order stuff you've never seen, you never know what it will turn out like, but I was pleasantly surprised! Everything is better (and mostly bigger!) than I anticipated.

Check out all the goodies:

Car decal ($22.99)
all my loot! SO excited!

Travel tote ($39.99)- this is going to be my new go-to bag for sure. It is the perfect size for taking to the gym or the lake! 
Hostess gifts- phone pouch and perfect pouch

Portfolio Wallet ($29.99)
Happy Bucket ($19.99)- I need about 10 of these! I should have gotten the font in white, but it is still cute. 

Hobo ($49.99) - LOVE THIS! I carried it today and got so many compliments already.

Umbrella - Terrific Ten Bonus (for hostesses)
Back Sak ($24.99) (the picture isn't great, but it says Brianna :) ) - It is bigger and MUCH more durable than I anticipated. You get these kind of backpacks for freebies all the time, but this one is made to last. 

Snack Sak ($24.99)- this is insulated and also bigger than I expected! It is a great size for snacks for big and little people!

Spa Wrap ($54.99)

AND, I'm still waiting on my resort tote (it is on backorder- so they added the spa wrap!!). 

I'm pretty excited. Great products, great prices (ALL personalization is included!)- what more could you want?

So... who wants to book a party?! 

Friday, April 16, 2010

the box- update

Remember the box we built for our screened-in porch?

It needed a cushion for the top...

I was too cheap to buy foam like this from JoAnn or Hancock, but i found the perfect solution at Overstock.com. I bought this foam matress topper (same price for a Full or a Cal. King! I got the Cal. King of course) and folded it into thirds. We secured it with a few stiches on one end and wallah! A cushy top.


Next came the fun part- making it cute.
Mom and Greg helped me pick out this great indoor/outdoor fabric

when we were in Columbus, and I love the way that it turned out!

I am ever reminded of my sewing deficiencies (ahem, corners), so don't look too closely. The main point is:

  1. we completed the entire project for $150

  2. this has been the perfect nap/read a book spot during the past weeks of spring weather

  3. Southeastern Salvage has Pottery Barn-esq pillows for $9 + $5 monogram (with a free pillow insert!)

  4. we are one step closer to being ready for the many upcoming occasions to have lots of people at our house!

Oh, one other quick project: pillows for the rocking chairs on the front porch! I found this fun (again, indoor/outdoor) fabric in the clearance pile at JoAnn (oh, how I wish we had a JoAnn...) and love having a springy touch to our otherwise only-utilitarian porch.


... more to come on porch updates! We've been busy!

Thursday, April 15, 2010

here goes nothing

I have signed up to be a "Creative Partner" (read: salesman) of Initials, Inc!

I somehow got an email about it, and I immediately knew it was something I was interested in. I love all things personalized (read: we have monogrammed sheets), and all of these great products come with free (yes, free!) personalization! Sooo, instead of buying your next baby/graduation/shower/hostess/birthday gift from a store or online (where you will have to pay tons in shipping and even extra for personalization), holla back atcha girl (yes... I just said that. weird.).

Let me know if you are interested in hosting a party! I am completely new to this whole thing, so bear with me as I enter into a new adventure!

Monday, April 12, 2010

doing it.

I just registered for the Music City Sprint Triathlon!

So far, this is how my "training" has been...

swim on Mondays, and that is consistently good. I really look forward to that each week, and my endurance is picking up. I swim at UTC, but I'm really looking forward to the water being up at the lake and doing all of my swimming out there. It will be much more similar to the actual race, since it is in the Cumberland River.

I don't have a bike. That's all.

I run most days with the dog. I have to walk him, and now that it is nice outside I figure we ought to run. Well, that stinks. He is a horrible running buddy, and for some reason my feet always feel like they are full of lead when I run near our house. We usually accomplish about a mile before I give up and he poops out. I planned all last week to go for a good "long" run on Saturday morning before we got started with our day. Well, wouldn't ya know... I ran 7 miles! It was so... fun! I never think running is fun, but I seriously had such a great time! This never happens, folks. I was jamming out to my ipod and relishing the cool morning weather.

So there ya have it. I'm doing a triathlon. We'll see how this goes!

PS- Blair is doing it with me! She is doing a half marathon in a few weeks, so she's miles (literally) ahead of me in the running division, but she doesn't have a bike either :).

Easter weekend: Part 2

Yes, I'm just now posting the second part of Easter weekend...

The theme of part one was fish, and the theme of part two is puppies! Man, we are lame-o.

It's true, Bella had puppies! Harley is kind of a dead-beat dad, but he doesn't really understand so we don't fault him too much.

Ashley's dog, Kensie, was in town too! She was worn out from all the playing.
We took Bella & the babies to visit the Rhineharts!
Yep, they were in love.

We all pretty much were/are. There are few things sweeter than new wittle puppies!

Oh, and there were people in Columbus Easter weekend too! We celebrated Mom's birthday with a traditional Mexican lice-hat dinner.


We also enjoyed lots of time playing outside (with the dogs, of course), dyeing eggs, going to the sunrise service at church and catching up with the fam!

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

what's up

So far this week (well, since Friday)...
  • Jessica and Adam got engaged!
  • Our friends Matt & Arrington announced that they are pregnant!
  • Sara and Raef got engaged!
  • Felicity was born!
  • My brother got accepted to Pace University, Marymount Manhattan and is 9th on the wait list at Boston Conservatory!!
So much excitement, I can hardly stand it! God is good!

Monday, April 5, 2010

Easter weekend: part 1

My Easter weekend began Friday with a day off work! Thank you, UTC for acknowledging Good Friday. And thank you, Jesus for this beautiful weather! I utilized my morning for packing and errand running, but I took the midday to relax by the lake. Mary Shelton was in town, so I jumped at the chance to hang out with her. We spent our time chatting and fishing (yes, this post is dedicated to fishing). The Bryants got a fishing boat, and since my fishing experience is limited to church retreats in elementary school, they had to teach me a thing or two. I was unsuccessful, but MS and Margaret Anne both caught a fish! MA's first one! It was so exciting!

As soon as David was able to leave work, we jumped in the car and drove to Columbus. I'll post later about our time there, but for now I'm just talking fish.

As soon as we got back home on Sunday, we unloaded, started laundry and guess what... headed back out to the lake, of course! David tested his hand at fishing, and he caught the biggest crappie they have gotten so far. He's pretty much good at everything. Fortunately, I caught one too- my first caught-as-an-adult fish! It was actually really fun, and there is nothing more peaceful than the calm lake on a cool evening.



PS- all of these pictures were taken with our phones! I'm totally impressed with the quality.